Microcapsules of volatile oil containing Herba Schizonepetae (VOHS) were prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion method to improve the drug loading and reduce the amount of pharmaceutical excipients. Orthogonal assay was applied to optimize the preparation condition of microcapsulation, and the results illustrated that the ratio of ethyl cellulose (EC) to VOHS influenced the property of VOHS microcapsule significantly. GC-MS analysis indicated that some volatile components with low concentration in VOHS were lost after microencapsulation. The microcapsules prepared with optimum condition had good fluidity, and the holes on the surface of the microcapsules contributed to the release of VOHS. The particles of the microcapsule conformed to a normal distribution with the diameter of 45-220 μm. In the simulated intestinal fluid containing 0.2% sodium dodecyl sulfate, pulegone in VOHS microcapsule showed a certain degree of slow release. Compared with β-cyclodextrin method, the microencapsulation used in the present work could reduce the amount of excipients and increase the drug loading. It was beneficial to reduce the dose of Chinese medicines containing volatile oils. © 2014 Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
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